Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy seems to have made an impression among Republican voters at a debate last week, with a Morning Consult poll showing that his support grew one percent following the event.

Yet Ramaswamy's opponents aren't just on the debate stage, as the left-leaning New Republic noted he is also facing a lawsuit. In a stunning move, Ramaswamy asked the judge to exempt him from testifying.

Lawsuit concerns two companies

New Republic contributor Tori Otten explained in a piece published this past Thursday that the lawsuit concerns Roivant Sciences and Sumitovant Biopharma, two companies that the candidate has connections to.

Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014. What's more, he was a member of both its board of directors as well as that of Sumitovant Biopharma until earlier this year.

In late 2022, Sumitovant Biopharma negotiated for the purchase of a Roivant Sciences subsidiary known as Myovant, with the deal taking effect in March.

While Sumitovant Biopharma agreed to pay $27 per share for all outstanding Myovant stock, the investment management firm Alpine Partners filed an appraisal rights lawsuit to verify that it had been justly compensated for its shares.

Attorney's working for Alpine Partners issued a subpoena to Ramaswamy for June 30 but offered a 30-day grace period to provide his deposition.

Too busy running for president

However, Ramaswamy replied in a court filing on July 27 that the rigors associated with running for president would prevent him from complying with the subpoena.

Vivek Ramaswamy using the presidential campaign to try to wriggle out of a subpoena in a proceeding in Bermuda court involving one of his many pharmaceutical concerns. His motion is still pending. pic.twitter.com/7086NiM9Bb

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) August 24, 2023

"As a candidate for President of the United States, I must frequently travel across the United States to campaign, make speeches, give media interviews, and meet with voters," Ramaswamy wrote.

"Consequently, I am often away from home, and when I am home it is often not until late in the evening after a full campaign day," the Republican presidential hopeful continued.

"Ramaswamy clearly thinks that he is above the law"

What's more, Ramaswamy went on to declare that he lacks "any material knowledge of the transaction that is the basis of the underlying Appraisal Proceeding."

This led Otten to allege that "Ramaswamy clearly thinks that he is above the law now that he is running for president."

She then asserted that Ramaswamy "has taken the cue from Donald Trump," someone who " is facing a mountain of lawsuits" and "repeatedly tried to set trial dates for well after the election."